Team Gabriel

The Answers to Your Questions

“Thank you so much to everyone who enjoys the film and enters into debate about the meaning and intention of certain aspects of the story. We’ve decided to answer some of your questions below.”

Kindest Regards,

Shane Abbess and Matt Hylton Todd

During the opening titles of the film, Gabriel is learning to function within a human body for the first time. This is similar to newborn animals in the wild where their ability to stand, walk and adapt within moments of birth are the difference between life and death.

The two over-riding forces in the story are The Light and The Dark Realms, led by The Maker and The Dark Lord. The reference to Heaven and Hell was added to the marketing campaign by Sony but still bears no effect on the actual story as we made a specific choice not to refer to any theology which would restrict the film to a specific religion.

Remiel was the first Arc sent to Purgatory. He was killed by Ahriman who wears his jawbone around his neck as a souvenir.

The spelling of Arc is different to the more common spelling. The reason for this will become apparent over the coming two sequels.

The mirror in Gabriel’s loft was smashed by an enraged Michael who was on the verge of turning. This was when he wrote the letter. Michael also left the two silenced pistols in the sink for Gabriel.

Ahriman says‘You be here about the Obeah. I be thinking Moloch is dead.‘ Obeah is a word for Bad Spirit in certain cultures.

Absinthe is the green drink that Uriel pours into the cracked shot glass.Gabriel whispers something inaudible in Lilith’s ear when he kills her in the nightclub. It was a line that Andy Whitfield came up with and is in Spanish. Though the exact words are not known, the word ‘Matador‘ is spoken and the meaning of the line translates to ‘This time, the bull wins.‘

Michael killed Sammael after arriving in Purgatory but was so driven and consumed by his own anger that he turned shortly after. None of the Fallen ever refer to him as Sammael and the Arcs only assume that Sammael still leads the fallen when all along it is Michael.

Ahriman’s Fallen dialogue was written backwards but not phonetically spoken that way.
– As soon as the lights go out he screams “Mih Llik!” which is ‘Kill him!‘
– During the face off where he pulls out his handgun, he first says “Siht od ew, siht od tnaw ouy. Ko” which is “Ok, you want do this, we do this”
– Once Gabriel has replied he motions a lick over Remiel’s jawbone and says “Sdorw emas esoht skaeps Remiel” which is “Remiel speaks those same words.”
– During the break in their fight he says “Emas og ouy won dna haebo nellaf si Michael‘ which is ‘Michael is fallen obeah and now you go same.“

Michael also speaks the fallen language to Moloch early in the film. He says “Moloch, Tou traeh gnikcuf sih raet” which is “Moloch, tear his fucking heart out.”At the end of the film, Gabriel falls from grace to become a human where he will now stay in purgatory. During his final speech he says “You threw me far from Grace and now I fall unto it.” In the Australian theatrical version of the film, there was an extended ending that showed him returning to Jade in the loft. He no longer had the tattoos and his eyes were brown.

Gabriel was always intended to be a trilogy but due to limited resources, we chose to make a smaller, intimate first film that would open up into the broader picture which is the sequels.

During their knife fight, Gabriel cuts Moloch’s face. Though very quick, soon afterward you can see 12 frames on the crash zoom where Moloch heals himself.

The Film Facts You Wanted to Know

The upfront total budget for Gabriel was just under $200,000 Australian Dollars.

Everyone who worked on the film did so on a deferral basis, which meant they wouldn’t get paid until the film got sold.

There were 800+ digital FX shots in the final movie. At the time of commencing principal photography, it was thought there would be just under 200.

Michael Piccirilli broke his leg weeks before shooting and for some of his running and action scenes, a stunt double, Az Jackson, was used. For his close ups, he was generally propped up by crutches.

The writers first contact with ‘Gabriel’ came from a short film they did with Producer Mat Graham called Sunday Drivers starring Dwaine Stevenson and Matt Hylton Todd in the lead roles. It was about two door-to-door evangelists who took bible bashing to a whole new level.

Filmmakers Shane Abbess and Matt Hylton Todd, with composer Brain Cachia and Sound Designer Sean O’Reilly, had spent the better part of a decade working together on short films before Gabriel, many of which can be found on youtube. All were done with little or no money. A great apprenticeship leading into their first feature.

The three major visual influences on Gabriel were Highlander, The Crow and Blade Runner. The film was made with the definite intention of being quite derivative of late 80’s, early 90’s sci-fi/action.

Andy Whitfield was about to quit acting before being offered the role of Gabriel.

Dwaine Stevenson spent weeks walking the streets at night in full costume to prepare for his role of Sammael.

Gabriel was the first Australian feature to be shot on the new JVC HD-101.

Harry Pavlidis, who plays Uriel, dropped his shot glass on the table moments before filming, cracking the entire rim. Harry was adamant they still use it for the scene as it worked for his character.

The bus scenes were filmed up at Heddon Greta drive-in. Scott Seddon, the owner, let them film for a case of beer and the promise of a cameo. Due to filming distance and time constraints he doesn’t appear in the film but keep an eye out for him in one of the sequels.

90% of the locations were built and filmed in abandoned industrial estates around Sydney that the producers hired for low rates.

The two stories in the funhouse are actually the same floor, just redressed. The location was Strickland House in Sydney’s Harbour.

Producer, Anna Cridland, fell asleep at the wheel one night after filming the climatic rooftop scene and wrote her car off. Luckily, she wasn’t seriously injured.

3 months into pre-production the initial Director of Photography, Production Designer, Makeup and Costume designer all left the film due to budget and time constraints. The producers had to secure the new department heads only 8 weeks before filming began.

Principal photography took place over 8 consecutive weeks during October and November 2005. The pickup shoot was 1 week in March 2006.

The initial idea for Gabriel was first discussed Boxing day, 26th December 2004 between Shane Abbess and Dwaine Stevenson.

Brendan Clearkin, on Shane’s advice, listened to Pantera’s ‘Good friends and a bottle of pills’ from the album ‘Far Beyond Driven’ leading up to his scenes with Jade.

Samantha Noble was good friends with Andy Whitfield before she was cast. It was this association which earned her a screentest at Andy’s recommendation.

Harry Pavlidis wanted to accurately portray his drunk state before his death scene and took it upon himself to consume a dozen ham and cheese sandwiches in a period of 45 minutes whilst gulping air in between, which resulted in him vomiting with extreme stomach cramps during his takes.

Armorer, Johan Earl, was injured in the leg by a piece of exploding rock whilst testing explosives at Strickland house.

Christian Clark filmed a Sauna scene for the opening which was later dropped due to a story change. He can still be seen briefly for a few frames when Gabriel is being aurally assaulted by his senses before Moloch attacks him.

The Future…

Gabriel is currently in development for a new trilogy based on the title character.